In a recent podcast I interviewed medicinal mushroom expert Jeff Chilton. One of the points we spoke about that was enlightening for me is the diversity of ways that one popular medicinal mushroom can be grown and sold, Ophiocordyceps sinensis– sometimes referred to as Caterpillar fungus.

This fungus (which isn’t quite a mushroom) is so interesting, in many ways. The way it grows in it’s natural state is a bit scary but it’s also interesting because of how many benefits Cordyceps has.

There are lots of different species of the Cordyceps fungus, but they all have something in common. They are a parasitic fungus. Each type of Cordyceps as it’s own host, and that is the body of an insect, a different insect for every cordyceps. There’s one type of Cordyceps fungus that exists in the jungles of Brazil and targets ants. It takes over the body of the ant it’s inhabiting and effectively turns it into a zombie, controlling it’s host body to get to a place that is just right for the fungus to grow. This type of Cordyceps is called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. 

Scientists who have been studying the fungus have found that it can control the ants by growing into the spaces around the ants muscles and controlling the muscles like a puppet. It leaves the brain intact to keep the ant alive, but severs the connection between the ants brain and it’s muscles, so it’s quite possible the ant is trapped in a body that is acting against it’s will. Freaky stuff.

You probably know already that I’m a nerd in more than one form – I love digging through scientific literature and reading text books, but I also love to read fantasy fiction and play video games. One of my all time favourite video games is the Playstation game ‘The Last of Us’. This game takes the zombie apocalypse concept and puts a different spin on it to the standard virus concept – and it’s all to do with our friend the Cordyceps fungus. The premise is much like how the fungus affects ants, but with humans as the victim, and so we have a group of zombies infected with the Cordyceps fungus running around biting people. Of course this is fiction, and like all good fiction there’s a nod to reality.

the Last of Us – Clicker by thomaswievegg on DeviantArt

If you don’t like video games I have heard this is coming out as a movie soon! I for one am excited to see it.

Thankfully, the type of Cordyceps mushroom humans use as medicine is quite different – no mind control here! Also, Cordyceps can’t infect humans so if you ever encountered the ‘zombie’ form, you wouldn’t have an issue then either.

Medicinal Cordyceps

This fascinating fungus has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, however the form that is originally sourced from is incredibly rare and expensive. Wild Ophiocordyceps sinensis takes residence in the caterpillar of the ghost moth. The fungus spreads throughout the caterpillar, consuming the nutrients of it’s host, and the caterpillar then expires. It is gradually covered by dirt and over time a fungal protusion will emerge from the caterpillar, a blade-like mushroom body growing from one end. The size of the mushroom is tiny, and when harvested the caterpillar is usually taken along with it. Its common Chinese name is “Winter worm, summer grass” because of the life cycle of the pair.

Image from Wikipedia

There isn’t anyway to cultivate this particular strain of mushroom so it has to be wild harvested, but this is damaging to the environment. So, scientists have found a way of growing the mycelium of this mushroom by growing it on liquid fermentation (no caterpillars involved) but it doesn’t grow a fruiting body. The mycelium has been shown to have a similiar chemical profile to the wild Cordyceps and is used in many cordyceps supplements – this product is known as Cordyceps CS-4.

There is also a different type of Cordyceps called Cordyceps militaris, and researches have found that the chemical profile is actually quite similiar to that of the fruiting body of the Cordyceps sinensis, in fact some of its constituents are actually higher than C. sinensis, making this a great alternative.

Image from Wikimedia

Benefits of Cordyceps

A lot of the claims for Cordyceps come from the traditional use of Cordyceps sinensis. It has been used for:

• Boosting energy
• Supporting athletic performance
• A tonic for those who have been recently ill
• A tonic for the post-partum period
• A sexual tonic, boosting libido
• To boost lung health, helpful for coughs and asthma

The cultivated mycelium known as CS-4 and the similiar Cordyceps militaris have been found to have properties which support these traditional uses. They have been shown to improve physical performance and fitness in athletes, to improve energy and to support immune health.

How to Take Cordyceps

Like most medicinal mushrooms you need to take it consistently for a few weeks to observe an effect.

You can mix the powder into your food or drink (such as coffee) or take the capsules.

The dosage varies on the form that you choose, so follow the instructions on the product or take as advised by your practitioner.

Always look for quality – look for CS4 or the Cordyceps militaris fruiting body

Resources

How the Zombie Fungus takes over ants bodies to control their minds

Cordyceps Supplement Guide – Real Mushrooms

The anti-fatigue effect of Cordyceps militaris in mice

The post Fascinating Fungus – How one type of Cordyceps can turn ants into zombies, and one can improve your health appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

Health & Wellbeing Podcast #32

Medicinal Mushrooms are growing in popularity all over the world, and not without reason. Medicinal and functional mushrooms are showing a huge amount of promise when it comes to improving our health and wellbeing. You might have heard of some of the more common mushrooms like Shiitake and Reishi mushroom, but there’s a whole heap of mushrooms with different benefits.

I was privileged to have a mushroom expert on the podcast – Jeff Chilton, founder of one of the leading medicine mushroom companies, Nammex.

Jeff is a wealth of knowledge and is very passionate about quality of mushroom supplements, something which we talked a lot about in this podcast. On top of that, he’s also a very lovely man, and patiently waited while I had to look after baby Lara a few times in the podcast, or while airplanes flew over (it was a noisy day then it seems!).

We spoke about the different properties of medicinal mushrooms, why it’s important to grow medicinal mushrooms organically, some of the quality issues that we face in choosing medicinal mushroom supplements, and Jeff shares a trick that we can do at home to tell if our mushroom supplements are quality or not.

Did you Know – Your Mushroom Supplements could contain grains.

Did you know that there are many types of mushroom supplements sold that contain grain? In a cost saving measure some companies will grow the mushrooms on grain. The mycelium (like the tiny roots of the mushroom) will spread throughout the grain and when it comes time to harvest, both the mycelium and the grain is taken. It’s virtually impossible to separate the grain from the mycelium, but not all companies are transparent with this. In some analysis it’s found that the chemical components of the supplements match the profile of the grain – so you’re essentially taking a glorified grain supplement.

Thankfully there’s an easy way to tell if your supplement contains grains – Jeff tells you how to do this in the podcast.

The Podcast

Click here to listen on Soundcloud, or via the embedded player below.

iPhone   Stitcher   Youtube   Soundcloud

Don’t forgot to leave me a 5* review on iTunes or on your podcast app.

Understanding Mushroom labels

Fruiting body refers to the part of the mushroom you see growing – usually that’s the cap and stem.

Mycelium is the cobweb like root structure that grows below the surface. This may be referred to on supplement labels as hyphae, mycelium or myceliated grain.

Another phrase that may be used is ‘full spectrum’, meaning that the mushroom contains both mycelium and fruiting body. To be truthful companies should detail the percentage of fruiting body contained in their supplements, and should not use the term full spectrum if the mushroom is grown on grain.

Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms

Medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional chinese medicine for centuries. There’s countless types of mushrooms used medicinally, but there are some select mushrooms which have been studied, and these are the more popular ones.

The benefits they show vary depending on the mushroom, and usually take a few days-weeks to achieve their effect.

There are so many types of medicinal mushrooms, but these are some of the more popular ones and their reported actions.

Shiitake

Lentinula edodes

• Immune tonic
• Anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial
• Can be used in cooking
• Lowers blood cholesterol
• Lowers blood pressure
• Potential anti-cancer activity

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum

• Immune tonic
• Adaptogen – helps the body cope with stress
• Calms the nervous system
• Supports good sleep
• Brain tonic
• Strengthens heart Qi
• Potential anti-cancer activity
• Can reduce allergies

Lion’s Mane

Hericium erinaceus

• Brain tonic
• Supports the nervous system, including nerve repair
• Supports stomach health and helps to heal stomach lining
• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-microbial

Chaga

Inotus obliquus

• Anti-oxidant
• Immune modulator
• Balances blood sugar levels
• Supports pineal health
• Improves sleep
• Anti-viral
• Anti-fungal

Cordyceps

Cordyceps sinesis CS-4, Cordyceps militaris

• Adaptogen – improves the bodies ability to cope with stress and reduces fatigue
• Improves athletic performance
• Tonic for the new mothers
• Improves mental clarity
• Helps recovery after a big infection/illness
• Lung and cough tonic
• Sexual tonic

I find this mushroom so interesting I’m dedicating a whole blog post to it – I’ll add the link here when it’s up in a week.

Jeff’s links:

www.nammex.com

realmushrooms.com/

The post Medicinal Mushrooms appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.